Four charged in conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine
NEWARK, N.J. – DEA New Jersey Division Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced four people have been charged for their respective roles in a conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.
Victoria Irizarry, 30, of Fort Lee, N.J.; Marisol Vargas, 34, of Rowland Heights, Calif.; Daniel Estrella, 28, of Lyndhurst, N.J.; and Cohen Easton, 46, aka “Power,” of Paterson, N.J., are charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute approximately five kilograms or more of suspected cocaine.
Vargas and Irizarry appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court and were released on bail. Easton appeared Feb. 21, 2019, before Judge Mannion and was detained. Estrella remains at large. Previously, Derik Sanchez, 32, of Fort Lee, N.J., and James Ferrer, 34, of Belleville, N.J. were charged in related federal conspiracy complaints.
In September and October 2018, Vargas, who allegedly maintained a narcotics stash house in California, brokered the shipment of boxes of cocaine to Sanchez, Irizarry and others in New Jersey using the U.S. Postal Service. The cocaine, which was intercepted by law enforcement, was to be sold in New Jersey and New York by Sanchez and other members of the conspiracy, including Ferrer, Easton, and Estrella.
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gibson, with the investigation leading to the charges.
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